1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image selecting apparatus for collectively selecting one or more images having the same property.
2. Description of the Related Art
Radiation image recording and reproducing systems using stimulable phosphor storing a portion of energy of radiation (such as X rays, α rays, β rays, γ rays, electron rays, and ultraviolet rays) irradiated thereon and emitting light in accordance with the stored energy by being exposed to stimulating rays such as visible light have been known. In such a radiation image recording and reproducing system, information of a radiation image of a subject such as a human body is recorded on a stimulable phosphor sheet comprising a stimulable phosphor layer (the radiation image is photographed), and the stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with the stimulating rays such as a laser beam to cause the sheet to emit the light. The light is then photoelectrically read to obtain an image signal (the radiation image is read), and the radiation image of the subject is output as a visible image on a recording medium such as a photosensitive material or on a display apparatus such as a CRT display, based on the image signal having been obtained (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 55(1980)-12429, 56(1981)-11395, and 56(1981)-11397, for example).
In such a radiation image recording and reproducing system, images having been photographed are stored in storing means. In some cases, a radiologist or a doctor or the like selects a desired image while checking a list of the images stored in the storing means by using a display screen such as a CRT display in order to display or delete the selected image.
For example, all images of a patient or all images of a patient photographed in a certain medical examination are selected and displayed in some cases so that order of the images of the patient or order of the images of the patient in the medical examination can be confirmed. In other cases, whether or not density is uniform among all images is confirmed. Alternatively, all images of a patient or all images of a patient photographed during a particular medical examination may be selected and deleted.
In such a case, it is necessary for all images of a patient or all images photographed in a particular medical examination to be selected. However, in the case where all images having the same property, such as all the images of the patient or all the images photographed in the medical examination, are selected by using a conventional system described above, a radiologist or a doctor manually searches for and selects such images one by one while checking an image list displayed on a display screen.
When all the images having the same property are selected based on the image property such as the patient or the medical examination, it is time-consuming for the radiologist or the doctor to manually search for and select the images by checking the image list as has been conventionally carried out. Furthermore, all the images having the same property may not necessarily be selected and some images may slip through the selection.